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Assessing the Cleveland Indians' spring work with two weeks before opener: Paul Hoynes analysis

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Indians manager Terry Francona (left, with Jason Giambi and Mark Reynolds, right) has led a spring training camp that has carried a sense of optimism from the first day.
(Photo by Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- There are 16 days left before the Indians open the 2013 season against Toronto on April 2 at Rogers Centre. Before the 25-man roster is named, and players start double checking to see if they can find their passports, questions still need to be answered.

So consider this a progress report, one of those slips of papers wayward students use to get from their teachers in the middle of the grading period to take home to Mom and Dad, on the big issues facing manager Terry Francona's ballclub.

• What does it mean when 1) Francona is spotted zooming around camp on a red scooter and 2) appears in a video version of the Harlem Shake dressed as a baby with a white floppy bonnet?

Well, the guy knows how to have a good time and if he does indeed drive the scooter between his apartment and Progressive Field during the regular season, he should get credit for going green.

Is Francona too player friendly? "We all know there's a line you can't cross with him," said Justin Masterson.

View full sizeJustin Masterson has shown signs of sharpened control during the spring camp in Arizona.Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer

• What about Masterson and Ubaldo Jimenez, the top two starters in the rotation who combined for 32 losses last year? Masterson is 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA in three Cactus League starts with six strikeouts and no walks in 8 2/3 innings. He threw five scoreless innings in a B game as well.

Jimenez is 2-0 with a 5.54 ERA in four games. He's struck out nine, walked two and allowed 19 hits in 13 innings. He seems to have taken to his new delivery, but the Indians are still trying convince him that he doesn't have to overthrow to get people out.

• Will closer Chris Perez be ready for April 2? He threw 15 pitches off the mound Saturday for the first time since straining his right shoulder on Feb. 26. He's making progress, but his return date is still unsettled.

In the bullpen, five relievers have jobs: Perez (if healthy), Vinnie Pestano, Joe Smith, Rich Hill and Cody Allen. Francona, however, still isn't saying how many relievers he'll open the season with. The Tribe opens with 13 games without a day off and is considering carrying an extra arm.

Then again the last seven games of the streak are played in Cleveland, which usually guarantees at least one April postponement because of snow or rain.

• The rotation appears to be set with Masterson, Jimenez, Brett Myers, Zach McAllister and lefty Scott Kazmir. Daisuke Matsuzaka threw three innings in a minor-league game Saturday, but it sounds as if he's running out of time. Carlos Carrasco, Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer still have a shot, but are probably bound for Class AAA Columbus.

• The new outfield of Bourn, Michael Brantley and Drew Stubbs hasn't played a lot of innings together, but that should change in the coming days. Brantley missed time after getting spiked in his left forearm on Feb. 25.

Bourn, Brantley and Stubbs should be one of the fastest outfields in franchise history. They've shown flashes of what that can mean offensively and defensively. The outfielder who has been doing the most running has been Ezequiel Carrera, who has stolen eight bases in nine attempts and scored six runs despite hitting .207.

Carrera is out of options and probably won't make the team.

Terry Francona on feeling good about spring camp

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• Catcher Carlos Santana is having a fine World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic, which is a good thing, because it seems as if he's been gone from spring training forever. Santana's absence, and Lou Marson's bout with the flu, has given Yan Gomes lot of time behind the plate. Gomes has shown he can hit, but his catching skills still need work.

Gomes injured his right hamstring Friday against Milwaukee running out a double, which probably punched his ticket to Columbus. The Indians want to find out if he can be an everyday catcher.

• Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera came to camp in great shape. He didn't lose much time to the WBC because of Venezuela's quick ouster and it appears he's going to hit second in Francona's lineup.

• It didn't make a difference in the final score, but when Mark Reynolds hit a monster ninth-inning homer Friday against Milwaukee, it demonstrated an element that has been missing from the offense -- late-inning thunder.

The Tribe lost the game, 4-3, but just the fact that Reynolds has that kind of game-changing power is refreshing. It's not only Reynolds, but Nick Swisher and Stubbs can do the same thing. It gives the Indians a chance to win a game in the late innings with one swing instead of stringing four singles together.

• Lonnie Chisenhall had a clear road to the third-base job this spring and he's not backing in. Chisenhall is hitting .419 (13-for-31) with four doubles, three homers and 10 RBI and has been decent defensively. Mike Aviles, Chisenhall's backup, like Santana has been lost to the WBC with Puerto Rico in the finals.

• The question of leadership and chemistry is always a dicey thing. How much it matters to a team's success or failure is matter of opinion. Just because Swisher signed the biggest free-agent contract in team history and has a personality that fills a clubhouse, doesn't mean he's the guy everybody goes to. The best thing about that is that Swisher knows it.

"The veteran leadership we've had so far has been better than I anticipated," said Francona. "Swisher, Reynolds and Jason Giambi are first in every drill. Our most enthusiastic games this spring have been when the veterans play and that's surprising."

• Speaking of Giambi, 42, can he make the 25-man roster?

The answer, to date, is yes. But as Francona explained, the roster depends on one move leading to another move and another move beyond that.

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